Zirakzigil
Global Moderator
The Penguins begin their west coast trip tonight in Vancouver as they take on the Canucks at 10:00 PM ET.
The game will be available to watch locally on SportsNet Pittsburgh and nationally on ESPN+. Fans can listen to the game on the Penguins app and on 105.9 the X.
Team Records: PIT (26-21-8) VAN (38-16-6)
The Canucks are 20-5-2 at home this season, and they most recently defeated the Boston Bruins, 3-2, in overtime. Both Brock Boeser (3G-3A-6 Pts.) and J.T. Miller (5G-4A-9 Pts.) enter tonight's game on four-game point streaks. Vancouver has the league's sixth best power play unit when at home (26.0%). J.T. Miller leads the team in points (79), while Brock Boeser leads them in goals (33), and Quinn Hughes (58) leads Vancouver in assists.
Game Notes
Pittsburgh is 12-9-2 against Western Conference opponents this season.
The Penguins own an overall record of 381-87-45 when both Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin record a point in a game.
Sidney Crosby has 22 points (12G-10A) in 22 career games against the Canucks, including points in 10 of his last 13 games versus them (8G-7A).
Crosby (582) enters tonight’s game one goal shy of tying Wayne Gretzky (583) for the seventh-most goals with a single franchise in NHL history.
On Sunday night, Sidney Crosby notched four points against Philadelphia (1G-3A), surpassing Jari Kurri for sole possession of 15th place on the NHL’s all-time even-strength goals list. Three of Crosby’s four points came at even strength, and he now sits one even-strength point shy of becoming just the ninth player in NHL history to record 1,000 points at even strength. Crosby, who has appeared in 1,245 games, is set to reach this milestone in the fourth-fewest games in NHL history.
Crosby has been finding the back of the net at a consistent pace. He is tied for ninth in the NHL in goals (32). Crosby has been especially dangerous on the road, picking up 30 points (19G-11A) in 26 road games. His 19 goals on the road are fourth in the NHL.
Alex Nedeljkovic has allowed five goals total in three career games against the Canucks, going 2-0-0 with a 2.14 goals-against average, a .936 save percentage, and one shutout.
Reilly Smith has 21 points (9G-12A) in 25 career games versus Vancouver, which includes points in nine of his last 10 games against them (5G-7A).
Kris Letang’s goal on Sunday afternoon marked his 34th career game-winning goal. Only Brent Burns (42), Oliver Ekman-Larsson (35) and Erik Karlsson (35) have more among active blueliners.
Drew O’Connor found the back of the net for the third-straight game on Sunday night to give him six points (3G-3A) over his last six games. His six points since this stretch began on Feb. 14 rank third on Pittsburgh. O’Connor has set career highs across the board this season in goals (9), assists (12), points (21), and plus/minus (+11). His three-game goal scoring streak is a career long, and only Zach Hyman (4) has a longer active goal streak in the league.
Bryan Rust picked up three points on Sunday night against the Flyers (2G-1A), giving him six goals in his last seven games (6G-2A). Going back further, Rust has notched seven goals in his last nine games (7G-2A). Since February 6, Rust has led all Penguins in goals. Only Auston Matthews (12), Nick Suzuki (9), William Nylander (8), and J.T. Miller (8) have more goals than Rust since Feb. 6.
Marcus Pettersson tallied two helpers on Sunday night against the Flyers, resulting in his seventh multi-point game this season. Pettersson’s seven multi-point outings on the Penguins rank second among defensemen on the 2023.24 campaign, behind only Erik Karlsson (9). Pettersson (3G-21A) is one point shy of tying his single-season high in points of 25 (2G-23A) set in 84 games in 2018.19. The defenseman is also three assists short of setting a single-season high in assists.
Over his past five games, Pettersson has tallied five points (1G-4A).
Game Preview: Penguins at Canucks (02.27.24) | Pittsburgh Penguins
The Penguins begin their west coast trip tonight in Vancouver as they take on the Canucks at 10:00 PM ET. The game will be available to watch locally on SportsNet Pittsburgh and nationally on ESPN+. Fans can listen to the game on the Penguins app and on 105.9 the X.
www.nhl.com
Rust apparently did not make the trip and out with injury
